BlackBerry App World Now Accepting Apps for BlackBerry PlayBook

Developers can now submit apps and become eligible for a free BlackBerry PlayBook

Waterloo, ON: Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today opened the BlackBerry App World™ vendor portal to begin accepting BlackBerry® PlayBook™ apps from developers. In addition, RIM outlined how developers can become eligible to get a free BlackBerry PlayBook if their app is submitted and approved for distribution on BlackBerry App World prior to the launch of BlackBerry PlayBook in North America*.

“Interest and momentum behind the BlackBerry PlayBook continues to build and we are thrilled with the positive response from both the developer community and our customers. With its groundbreaking performance and robust support for industry standard development tools, the BlackBerry PlayBook provides an exceptional platform that appeals to a wide range of mobile app developers, including Adobe® AIR® and Flash® developers, HTML web developers, corporate developers and application hobbyists,” said Tyler Lessard, VP Global Alliances & Developer Relations at Research In Motion. “We are very pleased to be working with developers in advance of the product launch and the opening of BlackBerry App World to accept BlackBerry PlayBook apps is an important next step.”

BlackBerry PlayBook App DevelopmentRIM also recently released an update to the Beta version of the BlackBerry Tablet OS SDK for Adobe AIR. The update now supports a preview release of Flash Builder 4.5 and the Flex mobile framework that work with either Flash Builder 4 or the preview version of Flash Builder 4.5. Support for Flash Builder Burrito adds drag and drop capabilities, making it even easier and faster for developers to build applications for the BlackBerry PlayBook. The latest Beta of the SDK also supports Windows in 64-bit and includes a simulator for Linux.

What Developers Are Saying“Developing for the PlayBook has been a pleasurable experience. The APIs are straightforward and optimized for the device and the environment is cross-platform,” said Jerome Carty, President, JCX Systems, Inc. “The thing that impresses me the most is the potential for the hardware. The gestures for the PlayBook make the device feel as though you have unlimited surface area since they extend beyond the screen to the bezel. This will make for a fun and unique experience for developers and end-users.”

“The BlackBerry PlayBook has some stellar hardware specs which will support Adobe AIR quite well,” said Randy Troppman, Founder, RunningMap. “I recompiled several of my AIR apps with the BlackBerry Tablet OS AIR SDK and they worked the first time. Unmodified. Piece of cake. Now I just need to take advantage of the BlackBerry PlayBook's touch screen to take these apps to the next level.”

"Model Metrics is thrilled to be working to deliver scalable enterprise applications on the BlackBerry PlayBook,” said John Barnes, CTO, Model Metrics, Inc. “The ease of development and deployment sets a new bar for the tablet market and Model Metrics is looking forward to offering the 2GO platform for the BlackBerry PlayBook.”

Free BlackBerry PlayBook OfferRegistered developers who submit a qualifying BlackBerry PlayBook app that is accepted into BlackBerry App World prior to the initial product launch in North America will receive a free BlackBerry PlayBook, subject to certain terms and conditions. Although developers are encouraged to submit multiple apps, there is a limit of one free BlackBerry PlayBook per registered developer in BlackBerry App World. For additional information on the offer, including the Terms and Conditions, visit www.blackberry.com/developers/blackberryplaybookoffer.

About Research In MotionResearch In Motion (RIM), a global leader in wireless innovation, revolutionized the mobile industry with the introduction of the BlackBerry® solution in 1999. Today, BlackBerry products and services are used by millions of customers around the world to stay connected to the people and content that matter most throughout their day. Founded in 1984 and based in Waterloo, Ontario, RIM operates offices in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. RIM is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market (NASDAQ: RIMM) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RIM). For more information, visit www.rim.com or www.blackberry.com.

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